AP bid to revive ailing granite industry

Vijayawada: The doddering granite industry in Andhra Pradesh is expected to get a fresh lease of life with the state government all set to order granite survey stones from the industry in the State in large numbers.

Even as the granite industry in the state continues to suffer from several ills, APMDC vice-chairman V G Venkat Reddy said here on Thursday that the 'YSR Jagananna Saswatha Bhoomi Hakku-Bhoomi Rakshana" scheme which would pave the way for dispute-free land holdings, will also boost the health of the granite industry.

More than 2,000 granite quarries in the state have been blessed with the order to supply survey stones priced at Rs 300 each as against the earlier price of Rs 270 by the authorities to meet the humongous demand for these stones. Thousands of the quarries in the state have been shut down due to lack of orders and their owners have become financially bankrupt.

However, the government has been claiming that it was doing its best to revive the granite industry by declaring a slab system and concessions. The state government has also entered into an MoU with the Survey of India for the mega-exercise of land survey now.

The government has also claimed that mining blocks for the survey stones have been allotted free of cost to the quarry owners to help them tide over the crisis. It should be recalled that it's more than a century since the first land survey was conducted under the British in the state and a modern survey system is being adopted now.

The survey will be taken up using hybrid methods like Continuous Operating Reference Stations (CORS) and drones. The government has conducted the survey of a pilot project in Takkellapadu village of Jaggaiahpet mandal in Krishna district after it decided to go in for a comprehensive land survey. The resurvey will be conducted in 17,461 revenue villages, 47,861 habitations, and 110 urban local bodies.

For lands, house sites and houses, boundaries will be marked, and title deeds will be issued to the land/house site/house owners. Though this is acknowledged as a major move to revive the granite industry in the state, this is only an ad hoc policy that could be beneficial for the industry for the time being.